Evaluation of rational prescribing in a hospital paediatric outpatient clinic in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Irrational prescribing is a continuing public health issue in low/middle-income countries. This study evaluated the drug use pattern of medicines in paediatrics aged below 12 years attending the outpatient paediatric clinic of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. METHOD: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted using patients’ medical records who attended the outpatient paediatric clinic from 1 January to 30 April 2022. The WHO prescribing indicators and guidelines for investigating drug use in health facilities were used. RESULT: A total of 800 prescriptions containing 2723 drugs were analysed, with a mean number of drugs per prescription of 3.4. A total of 651 patients (81.3%) had at least one antibiotic, and the number of encounters with injection was 17.5% (140 patients). Prescribing by generic name was done for 1406 (51.6%) drugs; of the 2723 drugs prescribed, 2441 (89.6%) were from the WHO Pediatric Essential Medication List. In addition, 80% of the prescriptions contained antimalaria. Analgesics/antipyretics were the most frequently prescribed medicine (87.9%). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study deviated from the WHO recommended standards. There is a need to target paediatric clinics further and enforce national strategies to tackle non-standard prescribing practices among the paediatric population.